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At E3, Kojima revealed that he is working on four games, and apart from "Castlevania," they're all "Metal Gear" related. The "Metal Gear Arcade" announcement was probably the most surprising, but this official trailer reveals that it's not really that much of a departure.

Graphically, the game looks a check of a lot like "Metal Gear Online." It's the arcade box that's probably the most intriguing, as it's got surround sound and apparently some sort of 3D goggle attachment that I've yet to try out. And, unless you live in Japan, you probably won't be seeing much of it either, 'cause the odds of this one hitting the states are slim to none. Kojima did say that an American release is "possible" but such an expensive set-up seems unlikely for your neighborhood Nathans.

Even if we don't end up seeing it Stateside, I'd be curious if Kojima and Konami make strides to create a more streamlined experience. You can't very well expect everyone that's walking into an arcade to create a Konami ID. Or can you?

Tags metal gear, metal gear arcade

Good or bad reviews don't always result in good or bad sales, but in the case of "Bionic Commando," which received pretty universally bad grades, it may have had a significant impact. How significant? Well, in its first month, the game only sold 27,000 copies in the US. Compare that to May's #1 selling title, "UFC 2009 Undisputed," which sold 680,000 copies in just two weeks in May.

What does this mean for "Bionic Commando"? Well, probably that we won't be seeing a sequel anytime soon. We would, however, love to see a follow-up to the excellent download-only "Bionic Commando: Reloaded"...so keep that one coming, please!

(via Gamasutra)

Tags bionic commando, capcom, grin

Can't say I expected this one. On the verge of losing their WWE license, THQ appears to have a back-up plan. May's NPD sales numbers indicate that "UFC 2009 Undisputed" sold nearly 680,000 units, grabbing the top spot for the month and just about doubling Wii Fit, which sits at #2 with 352,000.

Is this the dawn of a new fight age? EA seems to think so, as they've already announced the development of their own MMA franchise, (titled "MMA," natch), which is coming next year.

You can check out the rest of the sales numbers at GameSpy.

Tags npd, ufc, ufc 2009

Since it's physically impossible to see every game during E3, I very nearly missed seeing "Homefront." The game, which is being developed by Kaos Studios (same guys behind "Frontlines"), was being shown in a theater at THQ's booth and, since my appointments were all running long, I missed my initial slot for the screening. Thankfully, with an hour left on the E3 clock, I found my way past the booth again and hopped in to one of the last demos. I was glad I did.

"Homefront" is written by John Milius. You've probably seen his work before, as he wrote the screenplays for "Apocalypse Now," "Conan the Barbarian" and "Red Dawn." It's that latter work that jibes most closely with "Homefront." Seems the North Koreans (21st century's Ruskies) have invaded the good old US of A and it's up to a hardscrabble band to reclaim the states. Unlike "Red Dawn," though, "Homefront" takes place 20 years in the future, so you have a nice mix of present and future war tech. The game is an FPS and appears to be heavily scripted, in the vein of the "Call of Duty" series.
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Tags homefront, kaos studios, thq

With launch of "Ghostbusters: The Video Game" next week we think we should see a renaissance of '80s screwball comedies getting video game treatments. Here are five that we think would rock:

"National Lampoon's Vacation"

Reason For Inclusion: Honestly the first thing that jumped to mind was that trip-planner/"Pac-Man" mash-up that kicks off the movie (great loading screen, by the way), but the thought of driving around Phoenix with a dead grandmother on the roof seems to just beg for a digital redux.

Style of Game: Open-world Adventure

Must-have Level: Wally World Hostage Mission

Possible Achievement: "This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy" – Jump into the pool without your wife seeing.
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Tags ghostbusters, ghostbusters: the video game

The best part of "Red Faction: Guerrilla" (which I'm playing catch-up on, since I missed its release while I was out at E3) is the destruction system. But that's what everyone's talking about! I wanted to discuss something a bit different: Infinite sprint.

Yes, "Red Faction: Guerrilla" features infinite sprint. You can run at a pretty good clip for as long as you want, with the only penalty being that you can't fire while sprinting. It's a feature that should be included into every open world game from hereon out, including "GTA."

The inclusion of infinite sprint really goes to show how much the developers were trying to develop for the player, not for themselves. At it's heart, "Red Faction: Guerrilla" is a fun action game, not a Martian space drama. While the story is interesting, the meat of the game lies with getting somewhere, blowing stuff up and then going somewhere else to find more stuff to blow up. The developers took great strides to take the "work" out of exploring their world (fast travel, which you unlock later, helps this as well), even if it breaks some of the realism factor.
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Tags red faction, red faction: guerrilla, thq, volition

If you haven't experienced "Peggle" yet, there's never been a better time. Sorry if I sound like an infomercial, but "Peggle" is an excellent game, and PopCap has temporarily lowered the price of the iPhone version to a buck. The deal ends on June 14th, so no need to frantically search for an open WiFi connection, but just keep it in mind.

The AppStore continues to play host to these sort of deals, which are great for consumers, but it's pretty clear why PopCap made the move. Since the App Store lists based on sales, a price drop will result in a purchase increase, which moves "Peggle" higher up the list, which, in turn, results in more purchases. No, no hippie dippy communism here, this is straight up capitalism. Thankfully in this case it helps all parties.

So that Mounds bar you're chomping on? Yeah, that could've been "Peggle." Get on it!

Tags peggle

By Adam Rosenberg

It’s true, I ain’t afraid of no ghosts. Not anymore. For a long time,Terminal Reality’s “Ghostbusters: The Video Game” had me -- and many other franchise super-fans – worried. First there was the promising early footage from Zootfly, a developer which ultimately lost the rights to the film. Then there was the brief preview level sent out to press by subsequently confirmed Sierra developer Terminal Reality; as great as it was to hear the film’s original actors contribute their voices, the gameplay was extremely raw. And unpolished The apparent final nail in the coffin seemed to come when Activision merged with Vivendi, and “Ghostbusters” was among the casualties.

Just when all seemed lost, that’s when things started to turn around. Atari swooped in and snatched the free-floating in-development title up. Terminal Reality started to push the game’s Infernal Engine as middleware, a viable competitor to the likes of the ubiquitous Unreal Engine. And finally, after almost two decades of speculation, O.G. ‘Busters Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd starting hinting at a third movie. Now the stars have aligned and “Ghostbusters: The Video Game” is upon us. And it is good.
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Tags ghostbusters, ghostbusters: the video game

The biggest surprise of Nintendo's E3 press conference was the "Metroid: Other M" announcement trailer. Even more shocking than the games' existence, was its developer, Team Ninja. Yep, the guys that brought "Ninja Gaiden" back to gaming greatness. One might consider this great news. Team Ninja is, after all, an extremely accomplished developer, and the trailer did look ok...but is it "Metroid"?

We're about to get into hardcore speculation here, since I haven't seen or played the game, but stick with me. The trailer was not only heavily story-based, with more dialog than the whole of the "Metroid" series, but it was also very action-based. Now I know that exploration doesn't exactly "sell" in a sizzle trailer, but since the beginning "Metroid" has been about exploration, with action just providing something to fill the time between point A and point B. You're placed in a massive world, given little to no direction on where to go, and then must use your available abilities to progress deeper and farther.
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Tags metroid, metroid: other m, team ninja

FROM MTV NEWS:After several non-denial denials and premature band reveals, Harmonix and MTV Games announced Thursday (June 11) that Green Day music will be coming exclusively to "Rock Band."

Available July 7 through Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, the first Green Day release on "Rock Band" will be a three-song pack taken from their latest album, 21st Century Breakdown. The songs will include "21 Guns," "Know Your Enemy" and "East Jesus Nowhere." Future releases are planned, but details on those remain hush-hush.

Read the rest of the story on Green Day coming to "Rock Band" at MTV News.

Tags green day, harmonix, rock band